Hair setting is basically the process of shaping wet hair by the steps of stretching and forming the hair during blow drying or by curling the hair, fixing the hair in place after it has been dried and then curling or straightening the hair to give the finishing touches to provide the desired hairstyle.
However, heating the hair often damages the hair. Therefore, it would be highly desirable to develop heat mediated methods for conditioning the hair while styling the hair, which do not result in such damage. It would also be desirable to develop compositions which could be used in such methods.
An inherent problem encountered in hair setting is the natural tendency of the hair to return to its natural shape. For example, the set hair returns to its natural shape almost immediately if moistened or exposed to high humidity.
Investigators have sought to delay the combined action of natural forces and moisture that causes the hair to return to its original state by applying solutions containing naturally-occurring or synthetic polymers after the hair is shaped into a desired configuration. When applied to the shaped hair from aqueous or aqueous/alcoholic solutions (setting lotions), the polymers leave a film on the hair, after drying, to help maintain the hair in the previously shaped configuration. The polymeric film promotes cohesion and gives stability to the hair set. The principal objective of a setting lotion and/or styling aid is to cover the hair with an invisible polymeric film that will give the styled hair a degree of rigidity and protect the hair style against wind and humidity.
The general principles of hair setting are thoroughly discussed by C. Zviak, in The Science of Hair Care, Marcel Dekker, pp. 149-181(1986). Zviak reviews both the polymers used in hair setting products/styling aids and the formulation principles used to produce a hair set product that provides such beneficial hair set properties as improved hairstyle hold, easy application and combing, quick drying and non-stickiness, good hair body and bounce, increased hair volume and gloss, and hydrophobicity. It is evident that in the formulation of any end-use hair-styling product, some of these benefits may be sacrificed to some degree to achieve a competing benefit.
There is sufficient evidence both from both consumer and clinical testing that the use of heat styling appliances is damaging to human hair. For consumers that heat style their hair the primary concern is to use a leave-on product that can protect and improve the condition of their hair while providing preferred setting characteristics.
The claimed invention not only provides good hair setting characteristics and protective benefits, but in addition, uses heat to mediate increased conditioning and softness dependent on the delivery and deposition of conditioning agent between certain known levels.